Disclaimer: I do not own anything Marvel or anything I borrowed from other media.

It's been a while

*The following day*

With the morning sun shining through the blinds, Peter wakes up thinking, "How did I get the best sleep in a long time?" as his eyes slowly open. Peter notices a few things about himself and his predicament as his senses return. One, his body seems to have regained its strength from when he had his spider powers, so that's a good sign, although he wonders why something seems heavy on him. At that moment, he looks up and down and mentally starts freaking out over the realization of what, well, more like who's on top of him.

"Alright now, Parker, this is not the moment to panic. I mean, it's just your girlfriend, who is extremely hot, lying down next to you with half her clothes off, who wouldn't have a problem with me staring, but that wouldn't be right of me, would it?" Peter says in his head, not realizing the body's reaction has also caused Felicia to begin waking up.

Once she stretches to get herself awake, Felicia smiles brightly at Peter, relieved to wake up next to him. "Good morning, lover; glad to see you are up. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly, well rested, confused, and nervous simultaneously," Peter answers shyly, trying to stare at Felicia's upper half.

"Well, that's good about the rested part, but why the other two emotions," Felicia asks with concern, pretending not to know the real reason for her boyfriend's behavior.

"Confused because I don't remember when you came back, let alone got into the bed with me. Regarding the nervous feeling, I wasn't sure how you would react to me seeing you like this." Peter feels a little more relaxed due to Felicia's reaction so far.

Felicia then reveals a smirk, saying, "Me with my top exposing half of my body for you?" Peter nods swiftly, getting a laugh out of his girlfriend. "I certainly don't mind showing off for you or checking me out, for I have wanted to do that for a while now. However, this wasn't my plan, for I did come back late, and we both were exhausted because I did not have a lot of strength to get comfortable clothes-wise."

Peter's mind instantly switches gears after remembering Felicia's official solo night on patrol and goes into overprotective mode. "Holy crap, how did last night go!? Did you get hurt? Was it too stressful?"

Despite feeling touched by his sense of urgency towards her, Felicia quickly covers his mouth to keep his blood pressure from spiking. "Whoa, easy Spider, as you see, I came back to you and not at a hospital." "I mainly had another run-in with the Arsenic Candy, with more of them than usual this time, on top of having to save some people afterward. It was somewhat a challenge to where I did pass out afterward, but thankfully, Dectivice Wolfe checked on me to make sure I was okay."

Peter breathes a sigh of relief and quickly realizes he overreacted. Calming down and collecting his thoughts, he places a hand on her shoulder and reveals a proud smile. "I wish I were there with you, but considering you have been handling yourself without me, I would say you did a great job in that situation. It concerns you being overwhelmed, but I want to help you with your endurance for the next time you are on your solo."

Felicia blinks in confusion, processing what Peter says to her. "You mean you would be okay with me doing my own thing?"

"I mean, I would rather we work together as a team; however, after recent events with my powers, I have to learn that there will be times you might have to go at it alone, so I would rather you be equipped and ready than let me hold you back," Peter answers earnestly. Sure, his protective side would rather not sit by and allow Felicia to be put in danger, especially since his motto keeps him motivated to protect the innocents and his loved ones. On that side, Felicia asks for him to trust her when it comes to being by his side, so taking some of the weight off him during this rough time in his life is Felicia's way of doing so; therefore, he wants to give her that chance to do so.

Felicia usually does not cry around people, but when Peter reaffirms his trust after recent events, she breaks down the tough girl persona with joy. "You don't know what that means to hear you say that, Peter."

Peter gently wipes the tears that began to come out of his girlfriend's eyes. "Well, I do have a lot of makeup to do, so I'm hoping this can be one of the ways to do so."

"It's a start. Though, I think of more ways you can make up." Felicia wickedly smiles as she climbs on top of Peter.

"What do you have in mind?" Peter playfully questions before Felicia leans down and kisses his lips softly. Missing the feeling of his girlfriends, Peter eagerly kisses her back, bringing out more passion between the two lovers as they continue to kiss each other. Despite starting a relationship a while ago, it feels like it's been forever since the pair has had a moment like this, expressing their feelings for each other. Peter instinctively slides his hands from her waist to her not-exposed rear, causing Felicia to purr in delight and grind on his manhood. Felicia pulls away slightly to start sucking on Peters's neck, with him responding in pleasure by placing kisses down Peter's chest towards his hard bulge.

Before she can continue, Peter places a hand on her shoulder to see a look of understanding from Felicia as she asks. "Not ready to go all the way yet?"

Peter sighs, feeling bad for stopping the intense moment they were having. "I can't deny that a strong part of me wants to now. I still want it to be special, not just for my first time but our first time, but I promise I will be ready soon." Peter has had heavy thoughts about going all the way with Felicia in the past like any lucky guy would; however, the rational part of his brain wants to wait for the right time since it would be a life-changing experience for him.

Felicia, too, has been ready to take their relationship to the next level. Unlike her ex, Peter was different even when she only knew him as Spider-Man. It was something about him." I still respect that, which makes me want you even more with your Boy Scout attitude." She proceeds to place gentle kisses on Peter's lips, making him want her more.

"You do make it hard to keep holding back when you are like this." Peter leans up to have their foreheads touch.

Felicia purrs, grinding on Peter some more. "Apparently, I'm making something else hard, as I seem to recall saying something about getting revenge for when you get me moist down there."

Peter moves back in shock, remembering that talk, and is about to protest until Felicia laughs at his reaction. "You're cute when you get flustered by me; I miss that part of you sometimes while growing fond of your bad boy side lately."

"Speaking of, I think I got my powers back when you were out on patrol yesterday. Hopefully, I can get back into the swing of things." Peter crosses his fingers, feeling optimistic about his chances.

"That would be great, lover, but we should still wait for Linda to give us an update so we can be sure," Felicia warns Peter, concerned about the possibility of getting back to the crime fight sooner than he should.

"I know, but it's been difficult sitting by and not being able to stop crime with you. I also have dealings with the Apocalypse gang, so if they get any ideas that Spider-Man has been out of commission for too long, they could team up with Arsenic Candy or worse." Peter expresses, causing a memory to pop up in Felicia's mind.

"Damn, that reminds me of the Monkey Tail gang I encounter as well, but I haven't seen or heard of them in a while," Felicia mentions, as the gang has been quiet compared to the other ones.

"See more reason for me to try and get back out there ASAP; if anything, if we have to divide and conquer, then that helps keep them separated for the time being," Peter suggests, feeling more motivated to get back into his hero duties.

"Maybe so, but let's not overload our minds right now. You should catch up with Mary Jane since it's the weekend, and you don't have to be at school." Felicia states, earning a groan from Peter.

"I can only imagine how pissed she is about my disappearance." Peter shakes his head in annoyance. At least he doesn't have to worry about making up to Aunt May since she is under the impression that Peter has been at home at night or taking pictures for the Bugle.

Felicia nudges his shoulder, laughing at his reaction. "I can't blame her; she does care about you a lot, and as her new friend, I told her I would get you to check in on her once you are well enough."

"Why do I feel like you two being friends will backfire on me?" Peter rolls his eyes at how Felicia and Mary Jane double-teamed him.

"Or could it work out in your favor now? No stalling and get dressed, mister." Felicia winks at him, and Peter misses what his girlfriend is hinting at.

*Later at school*

"You had me worried sick!" Mary Jane shouted after running toward Peter. When she saw him approaching her at the front of the school, she quickly punched him in the arm.

Peter pretends that the punch hurt him and rubs his shoulder to massage it. "Ironically, I told Felicia that you would react this way upon seeing me."

"Jeez, I wonder why because someone I care about disappears and doesn't give me any hint of what's going on. I allow not hearing from you during the summer vacation to slide, but not this time. I get you in a relationship with Felicia, yet still, after the situation with Mark, I don't want to lose another person I care about!" MJ vents her frustration to the point where she starts crying.

Peter winces, comforts her, and assures her that things are okay with him. "I'm sorry, and you're right. I need to consider your feelings more regarding stuff like this, mainly since you have supported the recent changes in my life." Peter sincerely states that he does not realize how much Mary Jane views him regarding their bond.

While in the hug, MJ mentally doubles back what she blurted out, not that she regrets it, but in a way, she somewhat confesses to having more than friendship feelings towards Peter. Granted, it's not too much of a surprise considering how close they got, but he's with Felicia, and on top of that, the two girls are developing their bond, so she wouldn't want to mess it up by making too many advances. "I appreciate that, and I'm sorry for the outburst; I know I'm not obligated to be in every aspect of your life, but the recent disappearance gave me flashbacks."

"I understand, and I don't take it personally. It's a motivator to ensure I'm there for the people I care about, too." Peter says with a warm smile. A part of him ponders whether MJ knowing that he's Spider-Man would make it easier or more difficult for her.

Mary Jane starts to speak again until another voice gains their attention. "Petey!"

Peter turns to see his former ex rush over to greet him. "Yes, Liz?"

"Just want to say hi and glad to see you doing okay. Red." Liz gives Mary Jane a whatever look and walks off, not giving the redhead a chance to respond.

Peter looks back at Mj and states, "That was strange?"

"She is going for that, I have changed my act tactic towards you." Mary Jane clarifies not buying into the act.

Peter shrugs at that notion. "More power to her; anything else I need to know, like with Flash, Harry, and Gwen?"

"Flash hasn't been himself since you talked down to him like he doesn't act so much like a bully/jerk. As far as the couple go, I am not sure 'cause they don't look in my direction, not that it bothers me like that." MJ reports what she has noticed as of late.

"Flash needed a reality check, so maybe I was the guy who finally gave him one. As far as Harry and Gwen, I don't know if it is guilt or petty, but they are not my concern right now." Peter responds, taking note of the Flash situation. "Though I should at times keep my eyes on him in case of any sign of going green."

*With Felicia*

While Peter returns to school, Felicia decides to go out alone to recon as Black Cat. However, her mind still lingers on Peter's condition because the pair finally made up, and Felicia doesn't want him to rush anything when they are still in the dark. That said, she pulled her phone out and called the nurse who had recently helped Peter to see if she could get an update.

Linda: Hello, who is this?

Felicia: Hey Linda, this is Black Cat. I was calling to see how you are coming to get what Spider-man needs to get better.

Linda: Oh, hi, Cat. My apologies. I meant to contact Spider-Man but will lock you in since you have my new number. Dr. Possible arrived, and we are still working on a serum. Has anything changed with him?

Felicia: He claims his powers are back, so I assume that's good?

Linda: What? Based on our research, that shouldn't be the case yet. I would advise that he still wait to make sure.

Felicia: In that case, I agree. I will let him know and do keep us updated.

Linda: Will do.

After hanging up, Felicia's emotions change from relief over some news to curiosity when she receives a text message from Detective Dewolfe telling her to meet at a specific location. "Wonder what Detective Dewolfe needs?" she wonders before heading to the meet-up spot.

*Later back with Peter*

"I'm back home, Auny May!" Peter announces, entering his home. Peter's rest of school went smoothly. Surprisingly for the students, Harry, Gwen, and even Flash (well, he gave him a particular look like he wanted to say something but walked away) avoided him, and of course, the ones who would usually make fun of him didn't do so. Peter assumes his standing up to Flash's speech changes how his peers view him, and he isn't complaining.

"Peter, come here." Aunt May calls out to her nephew. Once Peter walks over to her, Aunt May hugs him, and Peter returns gratefully.

Peter notices that the hug is more extended than expected and asks, "Is everything alright? Not that I mind the long hug."

"I was wondering more about it since I haven't checked on you recently. Sometimes, time goes so fast that we forget to ensure that the people who matter to us most are doing okay," Aunt May explains while letting go of the hug. As Peter grows through puberty, Aunt May feels that now is a critical time to be there for her nephew, as she notices specific changes already happening with him.

Peter smiles in agreement, recalling earlier events. "Funny, I'm being reminded of that lesson the hard way."

"You and Ms. Hardy?" Aunt May suggests.

Peter nods, answering her question. "Something like that. I hurt her feelings recently and needed to make things up. I still do, honestly, though. We are working things out, thankfully." For obvious reasons, Peter can't go into deep depth about the issue between him and Felicia, for it was more so on the hero's side.

"It's great to hear you two patch things up. Have you both advanced in your relationship?" Aunt May questions with one eyebrow raised and arms folded.

"What do you mean?" Peter asks, genuinely confused about his question.

Aunt May smirks and says, "Birds and the bees."

Peter instantly turns red and stumbles over his words. "Whoa, no, we haven't done that yet!"

Aunt May chuckles at Peter's reaction and calms him down to explain more. "Peter, once again, need I remind you that I was once your age? Given how Felicia looks and how you two are going, I wouldn't have been surprised if y'all already did the deed."

Peter focuses on his aunt's wise words as she continues: "I'm saying that as you continue to grow and develop independently, you will likely have moments when you want to cross the line. As you are turning 18, I won't tell you what to do, but I ask that you protect yourself and not do it in this house if it happens. Deal?"

"Yes mam," Peter answers, not wanting to think too much about his aunt giving him the green light to go further with Felicia.

"Good; now, is there anything else you want to talk to me about?" Aunt May opens the floor for Peter to address anything that he's dealing with in his life.

Before Peter can come up with a response, he's phone alerts him as he sees that it's from his job. "That's the bugle, but other than school and my relationship life, nothing to address."

Watching her nephew head to his room, Aunt May calls out again, saying, "Alrighty, be careful and tell Felicia she doesn't have to wait for you to come over. She's more than welcome over.!"

"I will let her know; love you, Aunt May!" Peter shouts.

"Love you too!" Aunt May sighed, thinking about how, at some point, Peter would confide in her about what he was hiding from her that she had already discovered. "One day."

TBC

Author note: After a long time, I finally released another update. As one gets to their 30s, you genuinely understand what comes with adult life; buying my first home and working more comes with it for one. Then, there's the fact that I doubted my writing ability because I was inactive. It still surprises me how much people wanted me to keep this story going because they view it as that good when, in it, right. Nonetheless, I appreciate everyone who has supported my work, and while I can't promise constant updates, I will try not to go as long as I did before.